Central Problems
by MechaYourOwn
Summary: One-shot. Danny didn't expect much to happen when he decided to go to Central City for college. He was wrong. (Just a little idea splurge)


**Notes: This is centered around the idea that Danny Phantom did, in fact, take place in the DC universe. It's 2014 and Danny's 24 (hey, time accurate!). It was kinda the beginning to nothing but enjoy if you like that kind of stuff? On another note, Danny being hit with the accelerator kind of caused a reverse reaction: instead of becoming a metahuman, the particle energy is at "war" with his ghostly core, but his core is too power and it slowly beating it out like the virus it is. It's also a headcanon of mine that Danny's actually really smart.**

 **Note 2: Feel free to send me a request for a DP one-shot, crossover or otherwise. I can practically do anything (doesn't mean I will do it, though). So long as I recognize the fandoms, I'd likely be able to work with it.**

 **Fandoms: Flash (2014) & Danny Phantom**

 **Word Count: 1398**

 **Rating: T**

 **Genre: Friendship**

 **Characters: Danny Fenton, Iris West, Tucker Foley, Jazz Fenton**

 **Warnings: Awkward Danny, Headcanon (Smart!Danny). Unedited, so pardon any mistakes**

* * *

"So, Hudson University?" Tucker inquired, raising an eyebrow as he stared at his friend.

Danny nodded, unable to stop the small smile from crossing his face. "Yeah. I was surprised when they accepted my transfer, since I'm going in to get my doctorate." After his repeated absences from his other college classes over the past six years, and his steady B-average in his classes, the fact that the university admitted him was a pleasant surprise.

Sure, he didn't have any scholarships, but that's what Vlad was for.

Tucker shook his head, throwing a fry at his friend. Danny caught it, leering at the other adult playfully. "Dude, you tripled masters in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and general physics. Not to mention your three other bachelors. Why wouldn't they accept you?"

"B-average? In everything?" Danny put in, despite the rise in his ego as Tucker pointed out his successes. Successes that were _all him,_ thanks to Jazz and Vlad. The constant tutors and support helped a lot, but nothing really fit in more than the utter motivation that drove him to recreate his parents' creations. "But yeah. I'll be heading over to Central City later in the week to check out possible homes."

At that moment, Tucker's face fell a bit. "Oh. Guess this means you won't stay here, huh?"

That stung. "Tuck, I know that we've been close since the accident, but-"

His friend shook his head. "Nah, dude. It'll be fine. I mean, Jazz is here and we'll manage well enough. It was… It was for you, you know?"

Danny's smile reached his eyes. "Thanks. For everything. There's no way I would've turned out as…"

"Stable?" Tucker offered.

"Stable," he agreed, "without you guys. But I think… getting away, starting a new life, will be good for me. Where people haven't heard all that's happened to me, or know about Phantom."

"A normal life?"

Danny snorted at the irony of that. "Since when has my life ever been _normal?_ "

* * *

"Never pull an all-nighter to study. Make sure you take naps and ingest the right amount of ectoplasm to keep your labels stable. Don't eat too much meat, and for the-"

"Jazz, I get it," he laughed. It was typical of Jazz, who was now a stunning women at the age of twenty-six, to fret over everything. Even though he had grown up, Jazz considered it her job to take care of her baby brother. Then again, Vlad wasn't much better, since he had almost decided to follow Danny to Central City himself.

It took a good few hours to convince the man that, no, Danny didn't need adult supervision, that he wasn't going to have another panic attack, that he was _fine_ and distance from everything was _exactly_ what he _needed_. No more Ghost Zone treaties, no more overbearing make-shift family, and no more secrets.

If they weren't around for him to tell, then the urge to tell them would become less.

The redhead pouted, taking a few steps away from him. "Danny, I know we already had this conversation, but-"

"My flight will be here soon," he cut off. "I love you, I really do, but I _have_ to leave now." He hugged her quickly, squeezing her enough to assure her, before letting go. "I'll see you in a few months."

He turned and ran off, leaving his sister behind.

She scowled. "He better remember to call…"

* * *

 _A particle accelerator?_

It was something Danny had only read about in science fiction. Just a couple months into his arrival at Central City and his classes, the supposed machine was meant to go on and alter the view of physics itself.

To some degree, it terrified Danny.

Danny knew full well it was meant to breach new horizons much like his parents' portal had. It was meant to teach them facts about _reality_ that people were dying to know about, who had died to attempt to learn about. If the machine worked, and went online, so much information would be given and changed. It was incredible, but also horrifying.

Then again, Danny grew up around ghosts, ectoplasm, and dimension theories. He was more well-versed in the information revolving reality _and_ not reality than probably any other person on the planet. That he knew of, at least.

He wanted to see it get activated. One of the people he met, a Dr. Snow, talked about it for some time in his little tour of Star Labs. She was working on it and felt more than eager to share more than the required tour information. It was funny how Danny actually understood what she went on about, but the rest of the tour group grew somewhat annoyed and Snow had to calm herself down.

He felt anxious when he arrived at the presentation. Something in the air felt _wrong_ and made his instincts scream. Ever since Clockwork instructed him on _destiny-causing events,_ events that occurred _no matter what,_ in designated timelines, he had never felt so powerless. That exact feeling was replicated in a sense of dread and fear as the accelerator was turned on.

But nothing happened. For forty-five minutes, the machine ran perfectly and Danny's logic overroad the ghostly instincts he had developed. He had rejoiced with everyone else, gotten excited, talked with the scientists, met with the people…

Until a blast hit him, rocking through his ghostly core and sending him an unbelievable wave of pain. He was conscious enough to hear the screams around him, the ringing of the explosion, before everything went black.

His ghostly core, which was always purring with energy, suddenly felt dead.

* * *

 _Beep… … beep… … beep…_

" _His heart rate is really slow…"_

" _Breathing rate seems normal. Blood levels read stable…"_

" _Brain activity is normal. All in all, he seems healthy."_

" _Aside from the broken ribs and arm?"_

" _Well, obviously."_

Nngh…

" _Hey, I think he's coming to."_

" _Mr. Fenton? Daniel?_ Mr. Fenton? Can you hear me?"

* * *

"Coffee. Shot of espresso, cream." When the darker-skinned waitress raised her eyebrow slightly, Danny added, "Please."

She grinned, though it seemed half-hearted. "That's six-thirty-two." The lady - Danny read her nametag, Iris - glanced at his arm and winced. "What'd you do to wind up in a sling?"

Danny reached into his pocket with his left arm and handed her his credit card. "The explosion from last week. I was at the scene when it blew up." God, he hated his arm. Without his core generating as much energy, it healed too close to _human_ speed than comfortable.

She frowned, nodding in sympathy. "Yeah, that… My brother, or foster brother, really, is in a pretty nasty coma from the storm." He watched as she bit her bottom lip, her hand shaking as she tried to run the card through the scanner. "It's really… hard, without him, and…"

"I understand," he replied, earning a tight, fake smile as she finally rang his card. Hundreds of casualties had occurred from the accident. Quite a few people died and many, many more were severely injured. Danny was one of the few people in close proximity to the blast that got away with only a couple days in the hospital. "What exactly was he hit with that caused the coma?"

"Lightning," she said shortly.

Danny winced. He knew _exactly_ what being hit with super-charged electricity felt like. For a normal human like her brother, it was a wonder he was currently alive. "He'll wake up," Danny mentioned, attempting to supply some amount of hope. "I mean, if he's anything like you appear to be, he should be fine."

"Are you seriously flirting with me? Now?"

"What? _No,_ no! I just meant that you seem strong-willed, so if he's like that he'll come through without a doubt. I wasn't-" _Of course_ , his awkwardness decided to show up now. "I wasn't trying to _flirt_ right after you said that about your brother, really-"

The waitress eyed him disbelievingly before giving him a small nod. "I believe you. Only because that's totally something Barry would do, though."

Danny let out a relieved breath and told himself to think before he spoke. "Is Barry your brother?"

Iris smiled. "Yeah. He's this awkward bundle of adorkable-ness." Danny returned her smile. "He will wake up though. I mean, he's Barry. He's gone through too much to not wake up, you understand?"

"Yeah," came the honest reply. "I do."

* * *

 **Fin.**


End file.
